My Blog List

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I have been a member of the Bbest Team for almost 2 years and have made many great and dear friends during our many chats in our Forum Thread.There is so much talent in this team also.One particular artisan who I consider a dear friend and love her work is Nonnie.

Her shop http://www.Nonnie60.etsy.com is a treasure chest of her many talents, which she lists as watercolors, crewel embroidery, and macramé; but, Nonnie’s main passion is her beautiful stained glass pieces.They range from stained glass pictures, a Tiffany style lamp, stained glass card holders, glass lanterns, and candle holders to beautiful gemstone jewelry and gemstones which can be custom made as requested.Nonnie has also made some beautiful dried flowered coasters and pictures which are encased in clear glass.One of my favorite pieces in her shop is her stained glass piece, called “SophisticatedLady” in which she has combined her skills as a stained glass artisan adding a few gemstones from her collection.(shown at top). As mentioned at the beginning of her shop, anything can be custom ordered or made to your specifications.

As I always love to browse through Nonnie’s shop to look at her beautiful authentic gemstone jewelry, I was surprised by a new addition to her shop, Vintage jewelry and other vintage items.As one who loves vintage clothing and antiques, my eyes were immediately drawn to a beautiful pink crystal Vintage brooch.(at the very bottom of the this blog). Of course, I could not pass that up, so I had added it to my collection of Nonnie’s items which grace my own home.On my terrace, one will find one of her Votive Glass Lanterns which holds a candle, and is perfect as it starts to get dark while we are sitting outside.If you ever make it to one of my shows, you will find my business cards standing proudly in a pink stained glass holder, which Nonnie searched until she found the exact color of stained glass I wanted.I have quite a few garnet earrings, but decided what was missing was a garnet pendant to go with them.Where to look – Nonnie’s shop.Once again, Nonnie was kind enough to find the perfect size stone I wanted, something not too big, since I am rather on the small side.The garnet stone she found was perfect and then was mounted in a beautiful 14K gold setting. I have gotten quite a few compliments on that piece.

So not only do I get the pleasure of having a dear friend like Nonnie on our team; but I can look around my own home and find little my own little collection’s of Nonnie's artistic abilities!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

I took the liberty of copying this blog from my friend Marion's blog, this is just one of her many beautiful quilts that I have seen her make over the years. I also attached a second blog Marion did regarding a custom order quilt she did for a woman who rescues Greyhounds. Her shop on Etsy is: http://www.mademarion@etsy.com Marion's other website is http://www.mademarion.com; and her blog is: http://www.mademarion.com/blog/

My good friend of many years just recently gave a baby shower for her daughter Kelly. Kelly’s first baby is due in October. I met Pam when Kelly was a year old and my daughter Sarah was a newborn and we lived in the same apartment building. It is hard to believe Pam’s baby is having a baby!

I wanted to make Pam’s first grandchild a special quilt. Knowing that the new baby will be a boy, I chose to make a string quilt in a combination of blues and greens.

I have made string quilts before from scraps and was very pleased with the results. This time however, I used a soft blue foundation block and used fat quarters of greens and blues. For the quilting I did “stitch in the ditch”. I plan to start another string quilt in my other favorite color combination of pinks and yellows.

Pam and I are avid crafters and have collaborated on many projects from knitting and crocheting to quilting and beading. Please take a look at her beautiful jewelry in her etsy shop.

ps: My daughter Kelly loved this Quilt that Marion not only made for her baby, but on the back embroidered the baby's name, Zachary

Greyhound Rescue and Rehab is a non-profit organization that rescues, fosters and prepares ex-racing greyhounds for adoption. Since May 2000 they have placed over 700 Greys with loving families. GRR’s site describes Greyhounds as “quiet, well-mannered, loving and sensitive.” My friend Lorraine, an owner of two Greys and an active member of this organization, asked if I would make a quilted wall-hanging that she could donate to their most recent fundraiser. She gave me several tee-shirts with various graphics of Greyhounds on them to work with. I then made two wall-hanging quilts that were added to their silent auction.

Greyhound Rescue and Rehab is a non-profit organization that rescues, fosters and prepares ex-racing greyhounds for adoption. Since May 2000 they have placed over 700 Greys with loving families. GRR’s site describes Greyhounds as “quiet, well-mannered, loving and sensitive.” My friend Lorraine, an owner of two Greys and an active member of this organization, asked if I would make a quilted wall-hanging that she could donate to their most recent fundraiser. She gave me several tee-shirts with various graphics of Greyhounds on them to work with. I then made two wall-hanging quilts that were added to their silent auction.

I made both quilt tops with mainly fat quarters and scraps that I already had. In the larger wall-hanging I used colors that Greyhounds come in. GRR’s site states that Greys “come in a wide array of colors with 18 recognized variations.”

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Dexter with his little sisters (age 3 weeks) one of which is "Naila" brought by my friend's daughter

Well as much as we grieve, "all things do pass" and it is patience with a little help from our Guardian angels that help us along. As sadden as were the other day when Jada passed away so suddenly. The next morning I called the Vet and asked if they were willing to replace Ryan's kitten, since it was a "show cat" and quite expensive and just 6 months old. I told them that we just wanted to put everything in the past and put closure to this whole event and not take any legal action, etc. Without question they immediately said they would pay for everything - the surgery, cremation and the send him the full amount he paid for Jada. Since Ryan had been in contact with the breeder since this happened, and she was so upset since she never heard of any animal passing away while getting spayed, she was glad that the Vet paid for Ryan to get a new kitten. Coincidentally, he is the little brother of the kitten my friend's daughter bought after meeting Jada. Their mother's name is "Mary Christmas". So at 7am Ryan is already on his way to pick up his new little kitten, Dexter - it is about a 2 hour drive from here, so I am sure he can't wait to get his new little Dexter, although it will not replace the love he had for Jada; it will help heal the grieve and sadness we were all feeling.